Joseph Le Page is the founder and director of Integrative Yoga Therapy (IYT) and a pioneer in yoga therapy training programs. IYT, a leader in the yoga therapy field since 1993, is the result of Joseph’s life experiences, his training as a Kripalu yoga teacher and his master’s degree work in experiential education, along with his lifelong interest in mind-body health. Joseph is also the founder and director of Enchanted Mountain Yoga Center in Brazil, which is one of the largest Yoga centers in South America; it offers a complete curriculum in all aspects of Yoga with a special focus on Ayurveda and yoga therapy.

While looking for a center in Brazil to host my workshops and trainings, I came across Montanha Encantada (Enchanted Mountain). Since my first encounter with Joseph in 2013, I felt a strong connection with him and his wife Lilian. Beyond having taught all of my yoga and Feldenkrais® related courses at the Montanha Encantada Yoga Center, I had the honor to assist and teach in Joseph’s and Lilian’s yoga teachers and yoga therapy programs in Brazil and at Kripalu in the USA.

I have met few people in my life who live up to what they teach. Joseph is one of them! His level of patience, perseverance, kindness, generosity and honesty has only been matched by a few teachers I had.

Eleanor Criswell Hanna, Ed.D.: Founder of Somatic Yoga, Emeritus Professor at Sonoma State University and Past President of the International Association of Yoga Therapists

From 1969 to 2009 Dr. Criswell was a professor of psychology at Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park, California, where in cooperation with Joseph Le Page of Integrative Yoga Therapy she developed one of the first graduate programs in yoga therapy in the United States.

In 1972 she and her husband Thomas Hanna took a professional seminar with Moshe Feldenkrais, which inspired Hanna to organize the first Feldenkrais® training in the Unite States in 1977. Eleanor Criswell is the author of many publications on Yoga and Somatics, including How Yoga Works: An Introduction to Somatic Yoga(1989). She also has extensive experience with nonprofit associations and has been the editor of Somaticsmagazine-journal.

In 2001, I went to a Somatics workshop with the intention to meet Eleanor Criswell Hanna and decide whether I would want to do my undergraduate Somatic Psychology degree under her supervision. While living in Northern California from 2001 to 2006, Eleanor was my most important mentor. I feel very blessed to have had her as my mentor while studying at Sonoma State University and still now and then when we talk.

Alan Questel completed his Feldenkrais® Training with Dr. Feldenkrais in 1983 and began his practice in New York City. Ever since he has pursued teaching the Feldenkrais Method® full-time. Alan directs and co-directs educational “Guild Accredited Training Programs” all over the world. He is known for his work in popularizing the Feldenkrais Method®. Alan was an Assistant Professor at Princeton University, teaching acting, improvisation and directing shows (1980-1983). He wrote the book, CreatingCreativity-Embodying the Creative Process and since 1999 has created a library of workshops on CDs in the Feldenkrais Method®. In 2010, Questel created Pregnant Pauses – Movement for Moms, an application of the Feldenkrais Method® to help pregnant women in pain, have a healthier overall pregnancy, easily done by all women at all stages of their pregnancy.” I began studying with Alan in 2000 and he is my ongoing teacher. Currently, he is mentoring me to become a Feldenkrais® Assistant Trainer. No one has helped me professionally as much as he has. I deeply thank him for all his support. For more information, visit: www.uncommonsensing.com

In 1984, Russell became one of the first people in the world authorized to lead “Feldenkrais® Professional Training Programs.” And since, he has taught more than 40 programs internationally and directed 10. I studied the Feldenkrais Method® and The Embodie LifeTM with Russell from 2000 to 2006. Beyond being trained by him as a Feldenkrais practitioner, he introduced me to Zen Buddhism. Russell is an amazing human being who embodies what he teaches. For more information, visit: www.russelldelman.com

Jon Kabat-Zinn is Professor of Medicine Emeritus and creator of the Stress Reduction Clinic and the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Healthcare, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. His practice of yoga and studies with Buddhist teachers led him to integrate their teachings with those of science. He teaches mindfulness, which he says can help people cope with stress, anxiety, pain, and illness. The stress reduction program created by Kabat-Zinn, called “Mindfulness-based stress reduction,” is offered by medical centers, hospitals, and health maintenance organizations. Kabat-Zinn is the author of Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness. The core of his teachings can be found in his book Wherever You Go, There You Are. For more information, visit: www.mindfulnesscds.com

The Viniyoga Tradition started in India with Krishnamacharya. I had the honor to have studied with Desikachar, — author of the book The Heart of Yoga — and the Mohans —authors of the book Yoga Therapy. However, the Viniyoga trainer who impacted my life the most is Gary Kraftsow. At the end of the seventies, he was chosen by Desikachar to bring Viniyoga to the west and founded the American ViniyogaTM Institute. He is the author of two books and four DVDs and conducts Viniyoga teachers and Viniyoga therapy trainings. Gary serves on the International Association of Yoga Therapists Educational Standards Committee and actively participates in yoga therapy research. He developed the yoga protocol for the 2003 National Institutes of Health study “Evaluating Yoga for Chronic Low Back Pain,” which demonstrated the positive effect of yoga on low back pain. In 2005, the study results were published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Since then Gary has developed the yoga protocol for a Harvard Medical School study for generalized anxiety, designed another for an Aetna Insurance company pilot study on managing workplace stress, and consulted on several studies for other health conditions, including abdominal obesity, COPD, and non-small cell lung cancer.

Although in 2011 I completed the Viniyoga therapy training, once my son will be a bit older, I would like to continue to study with Gary to drink from that fountain of knowledge.

In 2007, Drs. Rick and Karin Dina taught Nutrition for Optimal Vitality at the Ann Wigmore Institute and through their lectures I began to get a deeper understanding of the scientific benefits of raw and living foods. For that I am deeply grateful!

On May 9, 1995, I ate my last cooked meal before I dedicated myself to a 100% raw and living foods diet/lifestyle. The book that most inspired me to make that change is called “Willst Du gesund sein? Vergiss den Kochtopf!” (Do you want to be healthy? Forget the cooking pot!), written by the German Natural Hygienist Helmut Wandmaker.

In 2000 I had a booth at the “Raw Passion” festival in California and met the leaders of the Natural Hygiene movement: Dr. Douglas and Prof. Rozalind Graham. After having visited them and their delightful daughter Faychesca in their home in England, they hold a special place in my heart. They are, without a doubt, some of my favorite nutrition and lifestyle teachers! Their teachings are simple and straight to the point. They are masters in turning complex concepts into teachings that are easy to understand and integrate into one’s everyday life. Their teachings make a lot of sense and continue to influence my teachings.

Doug and Rozland Graham conduct fasting, health and fitness events in North America and Costa Rica. Doug and Rozalind produced a great number of educational products, like the book The 80/10/10 Diet.

I wouldn’t be who I am and where I am without the Ann Wigmore Institute. The Ann Wigmore Institute is my mother ship. There are no words that could express my gratitude toward the Institute’s staff and board of directors. From 1999 until today, the Ann Wigmore Institute is having a positive impact on my life. It is truly a great honor to have been trained by Leola Brooks and Claudia Lalita Salas, the co-founders of the Ann Wigmore Institute and direct students of Dr. Ann Wigmore. Before Dr. Wigmore passed away in 1994, she chose Leola and Lalita to carry on the legacy of the Living Foods Lifestyle®. Furthermore, Leola and Lalita chose to certify me to be one of the few Educators of the Living Foods Lifestyle®, authorizing me to teach Ann Wigmore’s Living Foods Lifestyle®. Once more I would like to express my profound gratitude to my teachers at the Ann Wigmore Institute and the thousands of students from all over the world I worked with, who allowed me to be their Living Foods Lifestyle® teacher, yoga instructor and yoga therapist, and Feldenkrais® Practitioner. The work at the institute inspires me! Since 2005 I have been a member of the board of directors of the Ann Wigmore Institute. I thank the board members for their trust in me! From November to mid August, the Ann Wigmore Institute offers one- and two-week certification programs in the Living Foods Lifestyle® in Puerto Rico, and from mid August to the end of November internationally. To learn more about the Ann Wigmore Institute and their programs, visit: www.annwigmore.org